Changing the Past

Rhys smiled as he saw the interest in her eyes. When she repeated the name he raised a brow slightly and as she lifted her hand to turn the page he went to oppose but it was too late. “Princess..um...” He let out a breath, he hadn’t wanted to speak of these beings quite yet. It was a dangerous game, those who took in the dark arts attracted these small leech like creatures. But then she said it. She said the name that only the Magi called them. “How...did...” He looked to her with a shocked expression. She handed the book over rather quickly and he held it close to his body. Rhys looked down to the cover as she told him to keep it hidden. His brows furrowed and his lips parted to begin the stream of questions that he wanted to ask. But now was not the time. The king walked into the room. He slipped the book away before the king could possibly see it. His expression of shock and curiosity disappeared and was replaced with a smile.

Rhys bowed deeply. “Thank you, my king.” He spoke as he moved to the table where the king had motioned for him to sit. He looked to the princess again, he was uneasy. She should not have known about dream eaters. She should not have known much of anything at all in that book. Let alone the fact that she had seen runes of his language. No. Something needed to be uncovered here. Perhaps that was the evil? Maybe it was not her but something else that caused the future to rapidly spin into the destruction that it was. He could only hope that fate placed him here to stop such a destructive horrible future that was worse than any hell he could have thought up. Rhys cleared his throat slightly and shifted uneasily as he thought of everything. It was clear that his mind was racing, his expression had flattened slightly. He looked almost concerned. His eyes looked to a glass of water before him on the table, though he stared straight through it and to the table cloth beneath it. Yet he was not focused on that at all.

Rhys was so focused on his thoughts that he didn’t even realize that fifteen other instructors sat at the table with them. It wasn’t until she spoke to him directly that he popped out of the trance. A smile curved up his lips he looked to the others a bit uneasily. “Oh.” He paused a moment to think. “I should think that we shall be able to determine the best hour for your teachings. Yes. That should be enough time. If it is not we shall keep you all informed. Yes?” He looked to the princess. “This is to benefit you, Princess. Once we have figured out what works best for you we shall continue only with that time for a lesson so that you may resume your other lessons.” He spoke in a noble tone, much how he spoke with the king. He had straightened his back and a smile remained on his face. He knew how to act around them at least.

Rhys let out a long breath, “Please accept my apologies, he nodded. “I’ve had a long bit of travel.” He bowed his head slightly before he returned his attention to the king and princess. He noticed the empty chair next to the king and sighed inwardly. It was strange that his wife had apparently betrayed him. Yet he kept a place for her. He left the artwork of her upon the walls. He left everything of her out in the open. Why? He imagined if someone had done something so vile that everything of that person would be destroyed. It led him to believe that there was more to the story. More than he would uncover by asking of course. He would have to dig to get the answers that he wanted. The princess had seemed so off-put by him asking before. He didn’t want to ask her more questions on the subject. But at the same time...he sensed that she was not telling the full truth.

“What is it that you will be teaching?” A woman that sat across the table from Rhys asked. “Master Alister, is it? You’re rather young to be deemed a master of anything. Are you not?” She poked at him, a few of the others laughed lightly as the table was set by the servants.

Rhys turned his attention to the woman. “Ah yes, I may be young but I can assure you that I have plenty to offer.” He smiled to her, unfazed by her jab at his age. He was older than her, he could tell her that. However that would not actually help his argument it would cause too much attention to fall upon him. “I am a Magi teacher. I have studied the arts since before I can even remember. I was trained by Magnus himself before the old mage expired.”

The woman looked to him with a curious gaze a smirk curved up her lips. “A mage? Here in Balay?” She seemed rather intrigued. “Good find, my king.” She bowed her head to the king. “How wonderful for Princess Ivy to learn such an art. It will truly make you a well rounded Queen one day.” The woman smiled as she lifted her glass of wine to her lips to drink. This woman taught Ivy history. Her name was Isabelle. She’d taught Ivy from a very young age. “Do tell me Master Alister.” She turned her attention back to him. “What brings a mage of your stature to Balay?” She tilted her head. “You’ve fine robes upon your back.”

Rhys looked to the woman he lifted his glass of wine to his lips and took a drink. “I heard that the king was in search of an advisor for young princess Ivy.” He smiled, it was a nearly perfect smile. “I thought, what better pupil than the princess of Balay.” He nodded to her before he fell quiet once again.

Rhys turned his attention to the king as he toasted. He raised his own glass and smiled as the man spoke. “To Ivy.” He spoke as he clinked his glasses with others. Though he noticed the smile upon the princess’ face. It wasn’t the same a the smile he’d seen earlier with her, it was apathetic. Her smile was there because it was required to be there. Then he watched as the king reprimanded her. His brows furrowed slightly though he placed a smile about his face once again. She was a prisoner to him. A puppet. That was what was different. She was nothing more than what the king wanted her to be.

Rhys tilted his head slightly as he looked to the other instructors that began speaking. One by one they spoke of the wondrous things that Ivy had done in their teachings. Rhys perked up slightly and parted his lips to speak but then he sat back and bit his lip as he remembered that the princess told him not to tell anyone of the book. He wondered why. What was the harm? It was merely writing on a page. Though it was history.

“Cat got your tongue?” Isabelle spoke from across the table, a smirk upon her lips. She was all about bickering with the other instructors. “Master Alister, did you have something to say?”

Rhys looked to her, a well formed smile curved up his lips. “I do enjoy all of the stories that go around the table. It seems that Princess Ivy has quite a few very talented instructors to learn from.” He watched Isabelle all the while. “I have a high standard to live up to. Especially because I am so….young, as you put it.” He grinned then. He was fueling the fire which he realized the king seemed to get entertainment from. “I am very excited to teach Princess Ivy. I believe she will become a strong mage capable of many great things.” He nodded. Isabelle had a fake smile upon her lips as she watched him, she hated that he’d replied so easily and he could see it in her eyes. Rhys picked at the food as the dinner went on. He wasn’t entirely hungry. There was far too much on his mind that required his attention.

Rhys listened through the rest of the dinner. He offered his own words here and there as he saw fit. The king seemed to enjoy his input at least. Though the burning hate in Isabelle’s eyes only grew as the night went on. He drank his glass of wine and kept a smile upon his lips though. When they were finally alone Rhys looked to her, a smirk curved up his lips. He then let out a playful chuckle. “Yes, dinners with any sense of nobility tend to be quite tiresome.” He raised a brow at her. He found it interesting that she’d complained. He would have thought that she didn’t have the ability to complain. Or that she was too afraid to do so. He grinned then when she spoke of Isabelle, “Ah yes, now that, tiresome as it may be was truly entertaining.” He chuckled lightly. “She jabbed at me first though, I will put that on the table. I do not outwardly poke at a bear...however if the bear pokes at me first.” He raised his hands and then chuckled. He too was a little loose from the wine. It had been a long time since he had alcohol. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had it.

Rhys grinned once again when she pointed out that he was well versed in the games of court. “Well, I suppose I cannot hide it from you now. Hm?” He smirked to her as he stood, he leaned forward and grasped his goblet to finish the wine in his glass. He let out a long sigh as well. “Hm. It’s sad when the wine is gone. Isn’t it?” He smiled to her. He then gazed into her eyes for a long moment. “I would enjoy having her highness guide me to my quarters. I don’t think I could find my way back if I tried.” He smiled to her. He seemed to think deeply for a moment. He wanted to ask her more questions, but this was not the place for it. He wanted to know if the king always treated her so poorly. She was not a doll. She did not deserve to be treated as such. Even if she was the queen that he knew in the future...perhaps that was what drove her into such hatred? Rhys began walking from the dining hall. “This way right?” He asked as he purposely turned the wrong direction. He knew it would make her smile, or at least that is what he hoped.

The laugh was music to his ears, Rhys turned as he heard her tell him that he was hopeless. “Me?” He questioned as he came back toward her. “Hopeless?” He shrugged and let out a chuckle of his own. “Ah yes well, perhaps you are right. I may have been called that a few times. Though Hopeless isn’t the only word that’s been used for me.” He smirked to her as he came to her side to follow her to his room. He watched her walk, amused. This was the true Ivy. Or at least, a drunk version of the true version. She looked like a human to him, rather than something for show. “Ah well I will surely surprise you, princess. Or at least I aim to. Depending upon how hopeless I am, I may or may not win that battle.” He grinned to her. He was playing up the tipsy feeling, he wanted her to believe he had drank much more than he truly had. He wanted to see just how she’d act, he wanted to know the real Ivy that was hidden deep down beneath the porcelain appearance.

Rhys continued to analyze her as they walked back to his room when they arrived he stopped just short of her and gave a smile. “Why thank you, Princess Ivy.” He bowed deeply the smile never left his lips. When she posed the question as to if he needed anything he seemed to ponder. His brows scrunched together and then he let out a chuckle as she tagged on the next bit. That was when she caught him completely off guard, he watched, unmoving as she reached toward him. It was a quick moment, but he’d believed she would truly pull the dust off of his shoulder. He reached up and knocked it from his shoulder and gave a warm smile. “No trouble at all, princess. Thank you for pointing that out to me, I would not have seen it, if it were not for you.” He gazed into her eyes a long moment. “I do not believe that I am in need of anything...though...” He turned to his door, his hand was upon the handle. “I do wish you a restful night of sleep, Princess. May you rest light, and may your dreams guide you.” His words were like liquid silver as they came over his tongue. His smile was inviting as he pushed his door open. “I shall see you in the morning, bright and early for your lesson.” Rhys turned and pushed the door open.

Of course he wanted to ask her questions. He wanted to question her about the king. About how she had reacted to his book. What was so horrible about it that he could not share it with anyone? Then again, the king had seemed so quickly interested in him just for being a mage. He hadn’t performed anything spectacular, but at the mentioning that he was a mage the king seemed furious and intrigued all at once. It was a strange reaction. Though, he’d thought it was due to a lack of mages in the area...but if the princess remembered seeing the runes of his language...mages were not so uncommon. Merely hidden. Rhys stepped into his room and pondered a long moment. He paced quite a bit. He was tired, but...his mind would not stop.

It took until the late hours of the night for Rhys to finally allow his exhaustion to take hold of him. He pulled his robes from his body and folded them neatly. This left him in a black tunic that had silver embellishments and black pants, with black leather boots. He unstrapped his belt about his waist and removed his boots before he turned and looked to the bed. His eyes looked over the fine furniture for a long moment before he slipped beneath the covers.

It felt like he’d just closed his eyes when he heard a small bell ding. “Master Alister it is time to rise, your lesson with Princess Ivy will be in roughly 1 hour.” A woman spoke. “Is there anything that I may gather you?” A maiden stood at the foot of his bed. She had set a tray down with breakfast items upon it at the table near the balcony. “Master...Alister?” She cleared her throat. She walked up the side of the bed to the lump of twisted blankets. Rhys hadn’t slept so soundly after all. He had tossed and turned back and forth. “Um...Master Alister...it is morning now.” She reached forward and touched his shoulder.

Rhys gasped as she pulled the blankets away. He had finally fallen into a deep slumber...and here a maiden was to wake him. He stared to her with wide eyes, a look of shock on his expression. Or was it fear?

“I’m terribly sorry, Master Alister...it is time for you to rise for the day...” The maiden spoke and stepped back to the foot of the bed. “Breakfast is at your table. Is there anything else I may bring you?”

Rhys lay for a moment as his system settled. “No...no thank you. I’m sorry..” He sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes. “Sorry about that...I...must have been sleeping very deeply….” He looked to the maiden whom almost looked worried.

“Of course.” She bowed her head. “I will take care of the bed and the tray when you are finished.” She then turned and stepped from the room.

A maiden sent to his quarters to serve him breakfast. This was a parallel universe, it had to be. He had never been waited on, not once. Quite the opposite in fact. Rhys stood and moved to the table where he sipped on the piping hot coffee. It was well made, it tasted amazing. He let out a content sigh as he looked over the meal. Bacon, eggs, toast, grits….everything. He couldn’t dream of having all of that in his own time.

When he was finished with his breakfast he stood before the mirror and felt along his chin. Stubble had collected upon his face, though it wasn’t a bad look for him. He brushed through his hair and he looked to his robes. It was then that the door clicked open and the maiden walked back in again. “The king has supplied you with clothing that will be worn for the day Master Alister.” She spoke as she lay a set of folded clothing upon the table, along with shoes atop it. “I...believe I sized it right.” She spoke and gave a smile. “Do you need a bath drawn?” She asked.

Rhys stepped to the clothing and looked to the woman. “Um...You’ll have to forgive me...I’m not used to this sort of thing...” He turned to her after he had inspected the fine clothing.

The maiden let out a soft laugh, “No need to be alarmed Master Alister.” She stepped to him. “I will help you.” She smiled. “Your clothing is not suitable for the castle grounds. It is rather common and the king does not want such items worn to his daughter’s lessons.” She watched him a moment as he didn’t respond. “May I?” She asked. She then began to unbutton his tunic.

Rhys was in shock. He stood with a dumbfounded expression as the woman cleaned him up. She brushed through his hair and she shaved him. She moved him about as if he was a puppet just like the king treated the princess. He flinched his face to the side and stood uncomfortably as the maiden fixed him up just the way that the king wanted him. After all was said and done the maiden had him looking like a noble gentlemen. He had brown leather boots that were cuffed just below his knees, brown trousers to match. He wore a blue dress tunic that held golden stitching. A belt across his upper torso that a half cape attached to and he was fitted with a belt around his waist as well. It was highly uncomfortable.

“You look lovely.” The maiden smiled before she moved to grab his tray. “Have a good day, Master Alister.” She slipped from the room.

Rhys couldn’t help but stare to himself in the mirror. She’d brushed his hair that was nearly unkempt before. It was well under control now. He ruffled his hair slightly before he slipped his book beneath his tunic where the belt came across his chest. He then walked down the hallway, the boots he wore clicked with each step. Announcing his presence to others. He wound through the hallways and eventually found his way to the library where he had agreed to meet the princess. He found a table and gathered several books from the shelves before he sat down at the table and began making notes. To his surprise she wasn’t there yet. He would glance up every now and again but after he’d waited for a good deal of time he began to wonder if she would come at all.

When the doors to the library pushed open Rhys lifted his eyes to see the princess walk into the room with a cup of coffee in hand. “Ah yes, not a problem, princess.” He spoke with a smile upon his lips. He drew his brows together slightly though the smile returned to his expression. “My living arrangement is better than anything I have had. No need to worry.” He smiled once again at the end before he looked to the pile of books that he’d pulled down from the shelves. “I got carried away in reading, so no harm done.” He chuckled lightly.

Rhys then looked to her once again, he looked to the mug of coffee. “Did you manage to eat something before you came?” He asked curiously. If they were to practice magic she would need some form of nourishment. If she hadn’t eaten the energy expenditure could cause her to feel rather ill. It was normal for new mages to push too much energy into the magic, most of it would become wasted energy and drain the mage without producing much of an effect. “We will start small, but I need you to have your energy to learn this. This is not like any of the subjects that you have learned in the past. It takes mental and physical energy to perform even the smallest of tasks.” He watched her closely. “Where would you most like to begin?” He questioned. “The history, or do you want to begin with how to harness magic? How to use it for what you will...” He paused a moment, he studied her it seemed. He then leaned forward slightly and in a hushed tone. “How is your head after the wine?” He asked, his eyes stayed on her face as he asked this.